Set Up and Pay Off
by DDAriSieg
Summary: As the world slowly fell into focus, and he realized that he was on his stomach again, Abed Nadir started to become scared. These men didn't seem very intent on taking their sweet time, and Abed had counted on his phone ringing without being picked up – for dramatic effect on the other end – by now. Warnings: Rape, violence - though nothing graphic. Implied Troy/Abed. Meta.
1. Set Up and Pay Off

_**Author's note:**_

_I am truly sorry for this display of evil, but having frantically searched the internet for a story that might explore Abed and the other's reaction to something like rape, I finally gave up and wrote it myself. I apologize for pushing my weird hurt-comfort kinks on all of you, but if you opened this page in the first place, I might assume you're just as bad as me ;)_

_I CLEARLY DO NOT OWN COMMUNITY. I don't even feel like being witty about it. But I do think we should all be grateful for this little fact, as it would certainly have been a much darker show indeed.. ;)_

_Warning: Rape, though there's nothing graphic, slightly graphic violence. (Intentionally mild)_

**Set up and pay off**

There had been a rash of movies with violent rape scenes in them during the 80s. Abed had seen some of them, though never for the rape – It wasn't something he could easily relate to, and it most definitely didn't turn him on. To be quite honest, rape wasn't really something he had ever truly considered.

Sure, he had friends who were girls and pretty and used to live in terrible neighborhoods (cough, Annie) but while he may have worried for her safety, he'd never really considered that she might be raped.

So he was more than a little confused with the situation he now found himself in. It wasn't that he didn't know both sexes could be the victim of rape (He still remembered when Troy made up that story about his Uncle). It wasn't that he couldn't see how this could be happening to him.

No, he was confused at how he hadn't seen it coming. He should have seen the signs. The scenes that led up to this moment were almost too blatant for him to have been able to ignore them.

Britta giving a speech about sexuality could be seen as the first in a line of incidents that led up to Troy announcing that he Did Not Want any part in Abed's movies anymore (presumably because of the sex-scenes, but Abed was truly at a miss.) At which point Troy had stormed off from Jeff's party.

Abed, knowing that Troy must have gone home to their shared apartment to be alone, went off in another direction, as he too left the party. And on the way he met Shirley, who reminded him to "be careful at this hour", before continuing on her way.

It almost seemed too perfect, and a part of Abed wished he had been filming the events up until this moment. It didn't matter though. He would make sure to write it down later, and make a proper movie out of it. (Maybe one with a more likeable victim to further viewer's sympathy.)

What did matter at the moment, though, were the drunk men who held him down. Apparently his cold refusal to "share a few beers" with them had not been received well. And here he was, in an abandoned alley, held down by two men much larger than himself while a third stood above him.

"Sorry.. I forgot to ask for your name..honey.." slurred the man. Abed answered instantly.

"It's cool. I'm Abed Nadir." He eyed the man suspiciously, though he suspected the emotion hardly showed on his face.

"Heh.. A lil' arab in our midst, huh.." the man continued as he sat down beside Abed. Abed vaguely wondered if it'd be wise to try and kick him since –to be fair- no one had bothered to hold his legs.

"That why you too good to have a drink with the rest of us, eh?"

Abed answered truthfully and without a hint of sarcasm: "Well, to be fair, I'm half polish. But I am indeed muslim as you seem to be suggesting. And while I like the refreshing theme of a bunch of white guys cornering a kid of color, I.." The hit to the side of his head came as a complete shock to the aspiring director. For a moment he felt exposed, and he knew a vulnearable look must have passed his eyes, since the man who hit him suddenly smirked.

"Finally getting through to you, are we?" Abed sighed theatrically. He knew that it would be more dramatic if he lost it, but since there were no cameras for this take, he didn't feel like getting too in character. And either way, the stoic approach might work well since it would gain more sympathy from the viewers once he finally broke.

"Well, that did come as a shock, I give you that. However, I am sorry to inform you that you will not be getting what you.." He didn't get to explain his theory on why he was clearly in a sitcom, and consummated rape wasn't on the repertoire, because suddenly he was dragged around so he lay on his stomach in the dirt.

He should've been quicker at trying to kick the man. It was difficult from this position, and he didn't want his character to come off as too weak, not even putting up a fight.

Sure, Shirley was supposed to call Troy, worrying about whether Abed had made it home, and of course he or both of them would show up just in time to save his sorry ass (literally. Abed smirked inwardly at his success at a joke.). But that didn't mean he should just be the damsel in distress, waiting patiently for his rescue.

So when the man cursed at his skinny jeans refusing to be taken off, and the men roughly turned him around again to (congratulations, they figured it out!) unzip them, he saw his chance. He kicked hard at the man's shin, and fought to get free of the two others.

"You little bitch..!" cried the man he'd hit, and Abed continued fighting until someone grabbed him by the hair, and hit his head hard into the concrete. A ringing sound followed, as the world disappeared for a moment and then returned with a blurry vengeance.

He hardly realized it as more hits rained down on him, and someone pulled down his pants. To be completely honest with himself, things were getting out of hand. He certainly hoped for the rating of the show, that this was all happening off screen.

At the same time, as the world slowly fell into focus, and he realized that he was on his stomach again, Abed Nadir started to become scared. These men didn't seem very intent on taking their sweet time, and Abed had counted on his phone ringing without being picked up – for dramatic effect on the other end – by now.

But nothing had happened, and as the first man positioned himself, Abed suddenly understood. There was no way he was going to survive this. Being a victim of rape would place him as the main focus for at least five episodes, and that simply was not going to happen. So this was it. Now it made sense why he was in the group yet didn't truly seem to fit in it.

His character would be sacrificed to explore the other's reactions to a close friend's death. Their guilt and sorrow would bring them further together, but the actual cause –him- would soon be forgotten.

There was still a slight chance this was some kind of fanfiction, in which case he'd just need to have sex with Troy or Jeff and all would be fine.. But as things descended further into painful madness, and Abed let out a pained shriek, he was pretty sure THAT wasn't going to be an option.

So death. Curious.

When the men were all done, they buckled their belts and stood for a moment looking at the mess of a boy on the ground. He was curled up on himself, eyes unseeing, but a highpitched noise, much like a cry or wail, emitted from his slightly open mouth. Bruising all the way up his thighs seemed to compliment the blood that trickled down his legs.

A little worried and slightly more sober than when they'd started the business, the men hurried on their way, leaving a weird dude by the name of Abed Nadir to his own.


	2. Dramatic Effect on the other End

_Wow, thank you for all the positive feedback! I'm really glad someone enjoyed the chapter. I am afraid to say that this chapter will most likely prove disappointing, but I have to post it as it is. Otherwise it's unlikely I'll ever manage to get on with the story._

"I hope he's okay.." Shirley said seriously, as she looked at Jeff. When Troy had come back to the party to find Abed, and he was nowhere to be found, the drunken group had called Shirley – The only other member of the study group not present.

She didn't have much clue either, aside from having passed him on the way to her house. She hadn't really been able to guess what he was doing in that area, but it was Abed, so she hadn't worried too much.

Troy was sitting on a chair, hugging himself. He was weeping openly at Shirley's words. Shirley bit her lip and was about to say something, when Jeff interrupted.

"Guys, guys, don't worry. It wouldn't be the first time he's disappeared and refused to take his calls.. He's probably acting out some movie we've never even heard about!"

"Yeah, or he's gone home to our place and got lost in the Dreamatorium!" Annie added enthusiastically. Despite her enthusiasm, she kept clinging to Jeff's arm, as if for comfort.

Troy was slowly shaking his head.

"You don't understand. I upset him b-because of what I said.. He .. He wouldn't have come home, because he wouldn't know how he was supposed to.. act.. around me.." sniffed Troy. Not for the first time, Shirley wondered at the level of insight Troy could sometimes display.

Britta who'd been standing around awkwardly, sat down beside Troy. As if unsure what to do with her hands, she placed one on his lap, and the other on top of it. She looked to Shirley, as if needing confirmation that she was doing this the right way.

"Abed is basically a grown man – He can take care of himself.." Shirley said with a reassuring smile, feeling bad for having upset Troy with her earlier comment. Inwardly she wondered if Abed could truly be considered a grown man and if grown men could even be counted on to take care of themselves anyway. This time she didn't voice her opinion.

"I'll call again." Jeff stated, as he flipped his phone open.

He was usually not the type to let a phone ring more than five times, as it seemed unnecessarily desperate, but this time the phone had been ringing at least 10 times, when there finally was a click at the other end.

"Abed! The others are worried sick about you –"as he said this, there were several reassuring protests in the background, but Jeff continued, unfazed "-so you better come right back here to my apartment. Oh, and Troy isn't mad at you anymore!"

There was silence on the other end of the line for what seemed like a most awkward eternity. If it wasn't for the distant sound of music in the background, Jeff would've thought the line had died. For a moment he thought he might have found out how he would least like to spend that eternity in hell –in case it turned out he had been right to doubt the atheists.

"Abed?" he tried again, a little less secure. Everyone around him was looking at him and he phone.

"Abed, are you there?" Jeff tried again. This was starting to creep him out. If Abed was playing some trick on him, he was NOT going to take it lightly this time. (Though, in all honesty, he would probably be so relieved he'd forget to scold him anyway.)

After long moments of silence, Shirley got up from her seat.

"Give him to me!" she said sternly, and took the phone out of Jeff's hand. She pressed it eagerly to her ear and said sweetly: "Aabed? You there, hon? It's Shirley." There was silence for a bit longer, but she had the sensation of hearing ragged breathing. The worry rose from the bottom of her stomach towards her heart, making it beat ridiculously fast. She forced her smile not to falter. Then Abed was finally speaking, in a hoarse and broken voice:

"Shir..ley?" Shirley's smile fell, and with it, the whole temperature of the room seemed to fall a few degrees. Troy grabbed Britta's hand, holding it so tightly it actually hurt. Annie looked to Jeff, as if he would have the solution. Even Pierce, who had been faking sleep to avoid the situation so far, seemed to sense the atmosphere. He sat up slowly, for once not very keen on attracting any attention to himself.

"Yeah, it's me alright. Where are you, baby?" She couldn't help her mother-instincts from kicking into violent action at Abed's uncharacteristically small voice. Mirroring Jeff's thoughts, she decided that if he was playing an act on her - she'd definitely kill him.

"..Not.. sure. Near ..Longjohn pub..?" he answered.

"What does it look like?" Shirley asked, still hopelessly trying not to let her deep-rooted worry show through.

"..Dirt.. alley.. coin ..trash.. …" Shirley felt the worry in her chest turn to real horror, as her heart hammered against her chest. He might've been mugged or.. something worse.

"Okay, sweety. Can you stay where you are, then we'll come and find you, okay..?"

"Cool.." came the mumbled response from the other end.

"I'm gonna hang up now, is that okay?"

"Cool. Cool coo co.." She reluctantly hung up, and handed the phone back to Jeff. She didn't give anyone a chance to ask questions, before she started giving barking out orders.

"Britta, stay with Troy. And Annie, make sure Pierce doesn't do anything he'll regret. Jeff! We have to go find Abed, he's.. lost." She sent the man a meaningful glance at the word "lost" and hoped he understood why she wasn't intending on bringing the others. Troy and Annie instantly started protesting, while Britta seemed a little lost.

Pierce fell back on the floor, pretending to be passed out from drinks. It wasn't that he wasn't worried like the others, but he had no idea how to react to the situation. If it turned out to be a false alarm he wanted to be the one who could say "I never fell for it". And if the kid actually had gotten himself in some serious trouble, Pierce would certainly need time to figure out how to react to that. Lest he do anything stupid.

So in the end all except Pierce were cramped into Jeff's car. Shirley –as the only sober person onboard- was driving, while Jeff gave her the directions to the pub Abed had mentioned. (She was secretly quite aware of it's whereabouts, but thankful that Jeff kept up the act.)

Once there, she parked the car right beside a non-parking sign. Everyone scrambled out, and began looking for their friend. Shirley kept the group together, fearful some would get in trouble. They all searched in sober silence, the seriousness of the situation having dawned on every single one of them.

It was Shirley who saw him first. A figure laying on the ground, curled up on himself. She prayed to God and Jesus and Maria and all the saints she could remember, that it wasn't him, but as she approached the broken figure, it became ever more likely that it was.

"Abed?" She asked cautiously, taking a tentative step forward. Anytime now. Anytime she'd wake up from this nightmare.

"Abed! Are you okay..!?" Troy blurted out, as he pushed Shirley aside and ran to Abed's side. He fell to his knees beside his unresponsive friend. Once the light from Troy's cellphone illuminated Abed's form, Shirley couldn't help but gasp loudly. The state of his clothes and the bruises on his face and body confirmed her worst fears. Abed wasn't answering his friend, his eyes were closed and his breathing shallow.

In that moment, she knew this wasn't some dream.

Shirley stayed oddly calm through the whole thing, and as everyone around her panicked or cried she calmly entered the number every citizen knows by heart but no one ever hopes to use.

It wasn't before the ambulance came, and the paramedics carried their unresponsive friend to the ambulance, that she finally broke down. A few great sobs that shook her whole body. And that was it.

Only one could go with Abed in the ambulance, and Troy elected himself before anyone got to say anything. Shirley and Jeff had exchanged worried looks, but in the end there really wasn't much choice.

So Shirley got in the car with the others. And as she set out after the ambulance, she hoped and prayed that letting Troy go with his friend by himself had not been the cruelest thing she'd ever done –Far crueler, even, than making little Jeff Winger pee his pants..

_Author's note: Whew. This was a terrible chapter for me to write. I actually wrote it back when I wrote the first chapter, but even then I realized it was far too bad. I'd even made Britta drunk out of her mind and Pierce passed out for real – Just to cut down the amount of characters. Which is just not okay – Not when that's the reason!_

_I realize that most still don't get much screentime, but to me this was a difficult chapter to flesh out, since there wasn't much to go on in the first place. And to be completely honest, I would've much rather jumped forward._

_Still, I felt it was important for a sense of continuity and for the sake setting the tone of how the others might react.. _

_Perhaps due to all this I had a real hard time getting a sense of fluency into the writing. I mean, it's always hard to write in a different language, but this time it seemed overly difficult. I apologize for any jarring errors there might be. :C_


End file.
